Is Technology Destroying The Blues?
Write-up by Norman Sheppard
Blues music goes way back. Back to a time when slaves worked the fields for their masters and the only compensation they received was a piece of ground on which to sleep, and a piece of bread that they may live one more day to function for the man. This was a tough life and a lot of would use their music to assist get them by way of the long hours of backbreaking operate. It wasn’t until long right after Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation that the musical designs of these slaves created it out of the cotton fields and into the streets and saloons.
In the early 20th century, recording technology had advanced enough to put some of these Blues musicians on record. There had been a lot of legendary Bluesmen up to this time however their names and their music have faded into history. Only a handful of the early Blues masters were recorded and of this handful only a modest percentage of the recordings have survived. Robert Johnson is perhaps the greatest identified early blues master basically because his 1935 recordings had been preserved.
As technology advanced many much more recordings were made. It really is influence reached far across the states, from the Mississippi delta to Chicago, east and west, making a new generation of musicians and culminating into the American tradition recognized as jazz. Blues was the popular music and it was gaining momentum. Buddy Holly, Elvis, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and hundreds of other massively well-liked artists all state that the Blues was their key influence and the early recordings and performances had been their inspiration.
So what happened?
Today if you were to ask a teenager who their favored blues musician was most would shrug not understanding what the heck you had been even talking about. If you asked an typical teenager who Robert Johnson was they most definitely would not know. Some do not even know who the Beatles are! Some may know about B.B. King, Clapton or Stevie Ray Vaughn but these guys are old timers. Exactly where are all the new guys, the keepers of the blues tradition and legacy?
This is the age of the free of charge download. No album covers to appear at in awe. Older folks that cling to the music of their era still hold quickly the memories of getting that record and adding it to their collection and could tell you the names of dozens of bands, the rock gods they worshiped in their youth. Now the youngsters have iPods that hold 5000 songs most of which are by artists that they cannot even name. Most of which they will never hear from again. Little do they understand that their little computers and cost-free downloads are stopping these musicians from creating a living with their music and most of them will by no means be in a position to generate a lot more than that one particular hit after which they will disappear for ever even though the next wanna-be comes forth to take their opportunity.
Exactly where does this leave the old Blues masters, the ones who taught us how to play, how to rock n’ roll and how to Hip Hop. It seems that if a band or musician does not have their own show on the Disney channel or are backed by one of the couple of remaining record businesses they will never get sufficient exposure to make enough sales to sustain a profession. They may possibly get a spot on an iPod for a couple of months but that just doesn’t pay.
A wealthy history of our nation is told by means of music old and new but has since been lowered to faceless, temporary disc space. We owe it to ourselves to bear in mind the Blues and not let the legacy fade like a needle in the haystack of history. We owe it to ourselves to help the new musicians earn a living doing what they do best. Americans really like their music, this has not changed. Kids nevertheless like to go to concerts and rave about the newest and greatest. Children still express and define themselves by means of the style of music they subscribe to. Lets do us all a favor, go out and purchase a CD, greater but, acquire an old Blues CD and make your kids listen to it, tell them what you know about the artist, sign them up for a blues guitar lesson. This is exactly where all our music comes from. If you enjoy music you owe it to your self and to your country to preserve what is left of the blues.
Norman Sheppard is a Blues enthusiast and guitar player. To understand more about Blues music and the guitar pay a visit to http://bluesguitarlesson.net
Attributes: Is Technology Destroying The Blues?